Bush, Putin, and Democracy

There is a great letter on this issue that appeared in Friday's Times:

In talking to reporters alongside President Vladimir V. Putin this week, President Bush declared that "democracies have certain things in common - a rule of law and protection of minorities and a free press and a viable political opposition" (front page, Feb. 25). He then expressed "concerns about Russia's commitment in fulfilling these universal principles."

Only diplomatic tact could have kept Mr. Putin from reminding Mr. Bush of the hundreds of prisoners who are caged at Guantánamo and other United States prisons without hope of release or even a fair trial.

Mr. Putin also refrained from reminding Mr. Bush of White House memos declaring the Geneva Conventions on the treatment of war prisoners to be irrelevant, or of Justice Department memos justifying torture. The Russian leader could have asked how, under the rule of law, federal prosecutors can deny someone suspected of terrorism the right to confront his accusers or even to know the evidence against him.

I wish Mr. Putin had raised these questions, because like many Americans, I would like to know the answers myself.

Rachelle Marshall
Stanford, Calif., Feb. 25, 2005

This is not to excuse Putin's behavior, but to say that America turns out to need a lot of lessons in democracy, human and civil rights, and fair rule of law since September 11th and King Bush's reign.